Turkish forces are seen in a convoy on a main highway between Damascus and Aleppo on August 29, 2018. (AFP)
The Turkish military has withdrawn from several positions in the northern countryside of Syria’s al-Hasakah, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on February 19.
According to the London-based monitoring group, Turkish troops pulled out from positions in the towns of Harass, al-Swdah, al-Manajir and al-Subliyah. Before withdrawing, the troops reportedly burned their positions.
“Tension between Turkish forces and the [Syrian] factions loyal to them is privialing over the region,” a local source told the SOHR.
Last week, Turkish forces allegedly withdrew from positions near the towns of Hliwah, Jamus, Arisha, Mahmoudiyah, al-Sawda, Said and Khirbat Jamou in northern al-Hsakah.
The SOHR said, citing sources, that the Turkish military is withdrawing from these positions because it didn’t plan to establish them in the first place. However, the withdrawal of these troops from the northeast could be related to the Turkish military buildup in Idlib in northwest Syria.
Earlier today, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed his threats to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA). Erdogan said that a Turkish military operation in Idlib is just “a matter of time.”
It just reminds me of – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKC8pSFg1Vw
they put also many heavy troops – best tanks and artillary – from Greece/South-Thrace from there to idlib. it was in the greek news the last days
They still don´t seem to know how to use their heavy troops and best tanks in the best way. Just from numbers alone I assumed they would make more rapid gains when they startet their offensive in north syria, but they didn´t
they had never a real fight, only against helpless kurds, woman and children inside turkey or in syria..
My point while trying to be polite :)
They were leery of suffering the same losses as they did to the Afrin Kurds rear guard action.
At one time there was around 350,000 jihadis from Turkey,Arab wahabbi countries and brainwashed daft minions from other parts of the world fighting the Syrian army!You have to hand it to the Syrian army for getting thus far from the street fights of Damascus only controlling 25% of Syria…Turkey’s Economy was booming in Business/Agriculture/Tourism from collecting visa charges to accommodation costs and food and service industries and not forgetting the weapons getting paid for by Uncle Sam and NATO and HOUSE OF SAUD AND WAHABBI FRIENDS…Hell,The Turks even made like 10 billion Euros as bribe threatening to unleash an exodus of refugees to Europe! The Turkish GDP grew by a whooping 6-7.5% in that period 2014 – 2017(The height of ISIS)…Now it has really slowed to around 3% and unemployment levels increased 4 fold. OF COURSE YOU WILL GET MAD IF YOU ARE EMPEROR ERDOASS. He wants things to remain the same or go back as they were…The good jihadi/wahabbi times!!! Even if Turkish toy soldiers have to be blown away to do so. so be it! Hahhahahahhaa! This is not going to end well https://www.statista.com/statistics/263612/gross-domestic-product-gdp-growth-in-turkey/
Interesting numbers of course any nation that partners incest spwan tweorrist ops thrives tenfold and with nato especially they realised eternal humane glorification except for one thing, their leaders and familys life lucky to get out of the incest spawn manifestation of the vile evile axis, Did it occur of 24t debts the very much glorified usa has attained mainly for the priviledge to reap in middle eastern genocide on the sly?
Is the imf the true indicators of financial freedom + wealth,hell no,don’t even know about work!
Good old days?For cheep swiss oil,maybe incest spawn wannabe cia/imf bots and hato,
then again there are some who are more financial awares and the countless of times the eu-eep failed to deliver what was assumed via lamestreams media,makes the narrative the factualy opposite to was was yet again exaggerated for the sake of the incest spawned communions,so the uk realised there’s no future in tyranny teorrism,as the rest of the world too,who along with russia realise their economies are much more stronger without the cia tyrants,affiliates of wall streets fake economy,but rather thrive on sheer gutsy ballsy infastructure
Time will be the ultimate factor in the end,turkey needs to tread with extreme caution me thinks!
SAA is battle hardened. Turkey are not. SAAhas good chance have upper hand, if SAA hit Turkey military very hard in the first 72 hours create shockwave. During the 72 hours huge casualties among Turks SAA and Russia should offer negotiation on SYria Russia terms, while SAA pushing Turkey out of Idlib or at least cut the Turkey supply line.
I think most people don’t realise that we are on the brink of nuclear annihilation. The empire just cannot stomach not being the top dog any more. With Russian superiority in weapons and Chinese catching them economically they will not succumb easily. As has been demonstrated less powerful countries like North Korea, Iran, Iraq and the Philippians showing utter contempt for the empire and with Syria successfully (with Russian and Iranian help) defeating their regime change plans they must be seriously considering a first nuclear strike. What other option do they have to save their empire.
They fail,the other won’t (period)
They just have to accept the truth and realise they don’t scare anyone any more,infact first strike will be their ultimate mistake,but really most people are not incest spawn evil!
When dealing with mad people you can never discount their actions. They are truly mad and their actions lead me to accept that they will destroy everyone. Hopefully they will be destroyed first so the rest of us can live out our lives in peace.
Turkey seems to be launching an offensive soon. I hope Russia could stop it quickly in a diplomatic way.
I don’t think there is a diplomatic solution to this problem. Syria will not let any terrorists stay in their country. Total sovereignty must return to Syria, says Assad.
Assad is right. But he is also practical and realistic. War between Turkey and the SAA will be devastating for both countries and to Turkey’s relations with Russia and Iran.
Erdogan is Neo-Ottoman megaloman. He is nothing short of disaster for Turkey. Before he came to power Turkey was growing power, vital and ever growing economy, modern secular and liberal society, live and vital democracy. He managed to drag Turkey to middle ages. Islamisation, brutal and violent suppression of political right and journalism, Gazi Park protests across the whole country were brutally crushed with armed force. He staged that fake coup so he can purge the army and all institution from any opposition. As result Turkey today illegally occupy territory of 2 neighboring countries and Libya, funds and arms islamist fundamentalist movements and militia across N.Africa and Middle east. He is having dangerous Ottoman restoration rhetoric and is aggressively threatening several countries (Cypress and Greece), managed to alienate Turkey from NATO, EU and regularly angers Russia, China and Germany in numerous ways. Not long ago political analysts like George Freedman were predicting Turkey to be future regional supper power and dominate Europe alongside Poland. I never agreed with such prediction, but Erdogan derailed such scenario completely, sounds like fiction now.
Lets hope SAA and Russian forces race to take over these points like they did with former US posts..
According to the London-based monitoring group= “MI6 propaganda proxy”.
Reducing liabilities as part of the brinkmanship plan?
That Turkish military buildup to confront SAA will be smashed like a nest of roaches.
Erdogan start fleeing soon your own terrorist will turn against you.
“The SOHR said, citing sources, that the Turkish military is withdrawing from these positions because it didn’t plan to establish them in the first place. However, the withdrawal of these troops from the northeast could be related to the Turkish military buildup in Idlib in northwest Syria. Earlier today, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed his threats to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA). Erdogan said that a Turkish military operation in Idlib is just “a matter of time.”
But Turkish news has already told us what Erdogan’s doing, he’s transferring troops from Al Hasakah to Idlib in preparation for the new campaign he’s threatening to start, it’s no secret. The positive talks he just had with Trump may have something to do with the new mobilization of troops, so maybe he feels emboldened now and believes he can afford to leave only a small garrison force at Al Hasakah because the US has given him firm guarantees to protect them. Hold onto your hats because a tempest is about to hit us [just 10 days and counting], so God help the Syrian people and God damn the all retards that caused this situation, we were right on the brink of an easy and decisive victory before the Aleppo campaign [catastrophe] started, but now we’re not anymore, now we’re looking at decades of more of the same old shit we’ve been used to. Will Russia risk starting a war against Turkey to save Idlib, and will they also risk starting a wider conflict in the process, most people say yes, LOL, but they don’t read much Russian news though, or listen to Russian politicians, or even pay attention to what the Russian people say, I do though, and I hope Assad does too, because it’s as blatantly obvious as the noses on our faces, that the only one really willing to start WW3 over Idlib, is Mad dog Erdogan, he’s the only one crazy enough to. He’s been pushed into a corner and is facing a win it all or lose it all situation, so what would any of you do in a similar situation, the obvious choice is simple, gamble everything on a win, because losing isn’t an option for anyone in Erdogan’s position. Politics isn’t that dissimilar from military combat, a smart commander never boxes in a numerically equal army without leaving them a place to escape to, if you don’t your enemy will just fight to the death and both sides will endure heavy casualties, it’s far better to leave them an option to escape, that way you can bump some of them off as they’re fleeing without losing too many of your own, but Erdogan no longer has that option, he has to fight to the death now. God help Syria.
Thank you, Chicken Little.
This is not the time for insulting labels to shut down debate. This is a serious development and needs open discussion of all the angles.
This is not a surprise as many of us foresaw this as a consequence of the failed Astana process. Erdogan has warned of military action and has made good on his threat when his demands are not met to his satisfaction – Afrin and NE Syria which saw US pull out. Erdogan has indeed painted himself in a corner. Unless Erdogan has a alternative to military action that does not equate to backing down, Turkey will attack.
The possibility of US and Russia getting dragged in whether willingly or not, needs no further comment.
Please note that my reference is a literary allusion, not an ad hominem attack. If you look at OP’s previous posts on the topic, one is surprised that he has suddenly panicked, providing a “The sky is falling!” message when there is no need for “God help us!” hysteria. People need to calm down, and await events. The Russians, Iranians and Syrians are cool-headed, thoughtfully calculating people.
Agreed, although there have been miscalculations. I agree not ad hominem attack and my reply implied that it was so my mistake – will edit when have a chance to be more constructive. Let us see how this plays out as we transition to a global pandemic in the making.
You’re welcome, and now I’ll also suggest you take your sunglasses off, things will look different in the hot hard light of the day.
Arrogant’s mouth will catch up with him. There comes a time where you must stand up for yourself. Syria and Russia cannot allow Arrogant to dictate policy anymore. He will melt in his lies. The Russians and Syrians can see them and very likely are waiting for another attack. A larger attack. Consider one Russian Bomb. FAOB,
The thermobaric device yields the equivalent of 44 tons of TNT using about seven tons of a new type of high explosive.[7] Because of this, the bomb’s blast and pressure wave have a similar effect to a small tactical nuclear weapon.[8] The bomb works by detonating in mid-air. Most damage is inflicted by a supersonic shockwave and extremely high temperatures.[6][9] Thermobaric weapons differ from conventional explosive weapons in that they generate a longer, more sustained blast wave with greater temperatures. In doing so, they produce more damage over a larger area than a conventional weapon of similar mass I aint scared really. Nor the Russian. I call Arrogants bluff and I am no longer scared of this man, We saw him in Affrin, No more Chicken Shitting for me, maybe you. But not me.
It’s not a matter of being scared of Erdogan, it’s a matter of being scared of consequences. To beat Erdogan now we can only do it militarily [we can’t do it politically anymore], and we can only do it if Russia helps, but to win we have to risk killing a lot of civilians in the process, that’s what I’m really scared of, that and the fact the rest of the world might intervene as well. If we had just kept chipping away slowly at the south of Idlib we might have been able to get most of the pro Erdogan civilian population to flee to the Turkish border before the Turks actually got involved, but not anymore, now the civilians are feeling more secure because the Turks are placing themselves in between the civilians and the advancing SAA, so now we have less chance the civilian population will swamp the Turkish border, which would’ve made our job a lot easier and quicker if they had’ve. And to be honest I don’t think the Russians really want to start WW3 over Idlib, they’re way too smart to do that, but I’m afraid to say Erdogan is a totally different kettle of fish, his insanity means anything and everything’s possible now.
“Arrogant’s mouth will catch up with him.”
I agree, Erdogan may well be digging his own grave here in Idlib and I don’t mind that at all, it’s just all those other graves that are going to be next to his I’m worried about, all those graves will be filled in long before Erdogan’s ever is. Erdogan would’ve gone to an early grave if we’d managed to get the civilians to swamp the Turkish border, if we could’ve done that before the Turks sent in the cavalry we would’ve already won the war, and without even attacking Aleppo, now we have to do it the hard way and a lot more innocent people will die. When I see the terrorists children dying in the cold temperatures I can’t help but feel sorry for them, waiting for just a few more months wouldn’t have changed anything for us militarily, it has politically though, the international community doesn’t like seeing anyone’s children freezing and starving to death during a harsh winter.
WC, please note that my reference is a literary allusion, not an ad hominem attack. If you look at your previous posts on the topic, one is surprised that you have suddenly panicked, providing a “The sky is falling!” message when there is no need for “God help us!” hysteria. Calm down, and await events. The Russians, Iranians and Syrians are cool-headed, thoughtfully calculating people.
I don’t think the SAA can win against the Turks without Russian assistance, and I also don’t think the Russians will go to war against Turkey to protect the SAA, and even worse than that I firmly believe Erdogan will attack the SAA knowing full well the Russians won’t intervene decisively, so I think I have every reason to panic and claim the sky’s about to fall down. But unlike chicken little I’m not suggesting we do what the fox tells us, I don’t want to make a bee line for his lair, the UN has much better accommodation for us to stay in and it’s really cheap too, 5 star ratings while we’re on a shoestring budget is a good deal, we get to stay at a luxury resort while Erdogan stupidly digs his own grave. Don’t get me wrong, check any of my posts prior to a few months ago and you’ll see I usually go out of my way to condemn the UN and call them liars, which I still do, but the day they offered to amend resolution 2254 and agreed to ALL OF ASSAD’S DEMANDS, I realized they had just become the best tool Assad has to win back the entire country, not just Idlib. About 4 months ago the UN agreed to amend resolution 2254 to EXPRESSLY exclude Turkish backed Syrian opposition parties from meddling in Syria’s political processes, Assad agreed to that deal the very same day they made it, despite the fact he’d been refusing to accept the Russians/Iranians/Turks original version the of the resolution for nearly 5 years, in other words the UN deal was an excellent deal. Just a few months ago Russia and China sat down with the UN and haggled a few deals for Syria, at the end of it all there were 3 things of significance, 1, humanitarian corridors would be opened, 2, UN aid deliveries to Idlib would be restricted to just 2 of the 4 existing entry points, 3, And all UN humanitarian aid for Idlib would be ended within a 6 months time frame. Yipee.
1, was just to keep the UN and international community happy and a way of getting the UN to agree to 2 and 3. 2, This is what Assad’s been complaining about, the Turkish Red Crescent controls UN aid deliveries and supports the opposition forces, they direct aid to areas that mostly benefit the rebels, place refugee camps next to terrorist camps, supply medical and food aid to the opposition forces, and allow the so called moderate opposition to run government and non government institutions, the new UN restrictions help alleviate this problem just a little, not perfect but better than it was. 3, Erdogan won’t be able to take up the slack after the UN stops providing free aid to Idlib and Aleppo, his rebels and their supporters will start to go hungry, but of course all the sensible civilians would have decided to reconcile with the Syrian government before that happened, so in 6 month we should’ve had 90% of the population begging to or already reconciled with Assad, and the other insane 10% would’ve been too starved to offer any real resistance when we finally had to physically remove them. We could’ve won the war without even lifting a finger, the UN was going to win the war for us, all we had to do was wait for 6 months at the most, but if we were really clever and just kept chipping away slowly, it would’ve been even quicker, maybe just days or weeks. Now instead if seeing and eventual end to this war within a 6 month period and probably way sooner, I now see a never ending conflict that will leave Syria partitioned by the US, Turks, and Iranians, Syria will be divided once the Turks and US start making deals, and they already have started making deals. Lets see how much further the SAA can advance now the Turks are here, I’m betting it’s no further than they already have, and sadly I think it may even be backwards if anything, no more SAA advances, just retreats. I’m sorry I’m not giving you good news, but in this sort of situation it pays to be more pessimistic than it does optimistic. So it’s cool, in this case I don’t mind taking on the role of chicken little, someone has to do it, and since no one else’s offered to do it, it may as well be me. I’ll also add this, I hope all you optimists are right and us miserable pessimists are completely wrong, sometimes it feels great to be wrong, especially when you’re a miserable pessimist like me and want to be wrong about this.
We will see, won’t we? Three comments. First, you are, of course, the MOST OPTIMISTIC of all humans if you thought that “the UN was going to win the war for us.” Especially in a time range from days to 6 months. Perhaps you would be so kind as to recite examples of how this UN has quickly ended wars in similar situations. Second, perhaps from your studies of Russian history, or the biographies of Putin, Lavrov and the involved Russian generals, you can to back your claims recite examples of how they abandon allies, retreat from critical geopolitical strategic objectives, and back down for people like Erdogan. Finally, please follow what Syria’s ambassador actually says at the UN. Assad has never had “ALL” of his requests to the UN fulfilled. He has demanded not the few measly things in resolution 2254, but the removal of foreign interventionist occupiers like the US, NATO and Turkey. Check it out.
“Perhaps you would be so kind as to recite examples of how this UN has quickly ended wars in similar situations.”
There have been no similar situations as far as I’m aware of, this is for me a very unique situation that I haven’t encountered before, have you? Turkey’s economy is just barely getting by as it is, and it only survives due to Putin’s assistance, if he had to start paying for the aid the UN now provides for Idlib he’d be stuffed, he just can’t afford it, so how can the rebels survive without UN aid or Erdogan’s financial assistance, they can’t. And as to this comment, LOL, you need to read a lot more history,
“perhaps from your studies of Russian history, or the biographies of Putin, Lavrov and the involved Russian generals, you can to back your claims recite examples of how they abandon allies, retreat from critical geopolitical strategic objectives, and back down for people like Erdogan.”
15 failed Astana agreements for a start, so there’s 15 examples right there, I’m just waiting for number 16 Astana ceasefire right now, but this time I’ll agree with him if he does call for one, for the very first time.
In principle I agree. But I still think there is a diplomatic way to prevent war with Turkey. Assad should be patient and not push Erdogan into the corner, Erdogan himself has put Turkey in.
That would be the case if Turkey was acting on its own, but I’m pretty sure Erdo is not giving anything for free, so that would mean that someone is paying for all this.
The main question to answer is – who is paying for all these operations? Because it sure as hell ain’t Erdogan. He may be an ass but he knows the value of money.
Good point. All these talks with Trump and others. If Erdogan is putting his troops on the line to support Al Qaeda you can bet he wants compensation for those who are also using Al Qaeda for their own interests in Syria.
Consider one Russian Bomb. FAOB, The Americans used Moab in Afghanistan. Russians have bigger ones. The type of bombs that stop armies in their tracks, Unlike in Afghanistan, where big bombs are useless against a Sparce army, once an enemy is a group 2KM radius all is gone. Turkey would be finished on one week. Crying to the OPCW or their American Nanies. Stats: Foab. “The thermobaric device yields the equivalent of 44 tons of TNT using about seven tons of a new type of high explosive.[7] Because of this, the bomb’s blast and pressure wave have a similar effect to a small tactical nuclear weapon.[8] The bomb works by detonating in mid-air. Most damage is inflicted by a supersonic shockwave and extremely high temperatures.[6][9] Thermobaric weapons differ from conventional explosive weapons in that they generate a longer, more sustained blast wave with greater temperatures. In doing so, they produce more damage over a larger area than a conventional weapon of similar mass
I aint scared really. Nor the Russian.
I call Arrogants bluff and I am no longer scared of this man,
We saw him in Affrin,
No more Chicken Shitting for me, maybe you. But not me.
The Art of winning a War is the one who has the Heart in the fight. I doubt any Turkish soldier fancy the idea of dying in Syria to keep a bunch of lunatics alive. They also know nothing of real War the terrain of Idlib and Air support is out of the Question. Turkey has Thousands of Troops isolated in observation posts miles from supplies or back up. The Syrians are fighting for freedom, there land and they will stay in the fight for years against Turkey, and Russia owns the skies. Erdogan will seek help to find an exit without losing face